ARTICLES ABOUT CHICAGO ARCHDIOCESE BY DATE - PAGE 5

Following a hiatus of more than a week, the principal of St. Margaret of Scotland Catholic School on Chicago's South Side informed families Tuesday that he had resigned, citing a lack of support from the Chicago Archdiocese and the parish's new pastor, the Rev. Bill O'Donnell. Rickey Harris, a former administrator at Whitney Young High School and St. Sabina Catholic School, wrote in a letter sent home with students Tuesday that he was so "blindsided" by what he considered a sudden "suspension" last month that he did not trust O'Donnell and "must use wisdom and protect myself.

A Roman Catholic priest in southwest suburban Evergreen Park has been removed from ministry following an allegation that he engaged in sexual misconduct with a minor while assigned to St. Leonard parish in Berwyn more than 30 years ago, according to the Chicago Archdiocese. This past weekend, the Rev. Gary Miller resigned as pastor of St. Bernadette Catholic Church, where he has served as pastor since July 2001. Miller could not be reached for comment. The archdiocese did not say in the statement whether he denied the allegation.

A group of Chicago-area Roman Catholics dedicated to reforming its church is asking parishioners which leader they would like to see at the helm of the Chicago Archdiocese once Cardinal Francis George retires. Members of Voice of the Faithful, an organization of progressive Catholics focused on church accountability, have set up two websites (here and here) to solicit suggestions from people in the pews. Activists said the unprecedented undertaking fulfills centuries-old canon law that calls on the faithful to communicate their needs and weigh in on major decisions.

Cardinal Francis George will receive every message sent to him during his battle with cancer, the Chicago Archdiocese said today. The archdiocese has opened a portal for message and prayers on its website. Those who wish to mail notes and cards can do so at the following address: Francis Cardinal George, OMI, Archbishop of Chicago, 835 North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60611. “Prayers and messages from people everywhere are a support to Cardinal George and a significant aspect of his continuing health journey,” the statement said.

When Cardinal Francis George offered his mandatory resignation letter in January, he gave every indication he intended to continue to lead the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago and its more than 2 million faithful for years to come. Friday's announcement that George is again battling cancer creates a degree of uncertainty for the archdiocese, but church experts say any decisions regarding the cardinal's future at the helm of the local church remain in his hands. "Nothing is going to be done in terms of governance of the Archdiocese of Chicago that isn't Cardinal George's request and preference," said Rocco Palmo, an authority on the Catholic Church and writer of the blog "Whispers in the Loggia.

A Chicago-area man said his 81-year-old father who passed away last month was entombed in the wrong crypt at a Des Plaines cemetery, which has apologized for the mix-up. Natale Bavaro was 81 when he was interred on Jan. 7 at All Saints Cemetery, said his son, Nick Bavaro. A short while later, a relative was examining burial site information and the family came to the realization that something had gone wrong, Bavaro said. “We know he didn't want to be buried in the inside mausoleum, he wanted to be in the outside mausoleum," Bavaro said today in a telephone interview.

Nearly a year after a confrontation between the Rev. Michael Pfleger, an outspoken Chicago priest, and Cardinal Francis George, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced Tuesday that Pfleger will take on administrative duties at a new parish while sharing responsibilities with a co-pastor at his longtime parish, St. Sabina. Pfleger was named the temporary administrator of St. Margaret of Scotland Church at 99th and Throop streets, the archdiocese announced in a statement on its website.

A retired priest has been reminded that he is restricted from public ministry at a Northfield parish until the Archdiocese of Chicago can substantiate an allegation of sexual misconduct dating to the 1970s. The Rev. George Klein, the retired priest in residence at St. Philip the Apostle Roman Catholic Church, has been restricted since the summer, pending the investigation of a complaint that he acted inappropriately with a young woman more than 40 years ago when he was principal of St. Benedict High School on Chicago's North Side.

Chicago's Cardinal Francis George apologized Friday for remarks aired on Christmas Day comparing the gay pride parade to the Ku Klux Klan. "I am truly sorry for the hurt my remarks have caused," George said in an interview with the Tribune. "Particularly because we all have friends or family members who are gay and lesbian. This has evidently wounded a good number of people. I have family members myself who are gay and lesbian, so it's part of our lives. So I'm sorry for the hurt.

Two women filed separate lawsuits against the Chicago Archdiocese on Tuesday, alleging they were sexually abused in the 1950s by a priest at St. Peter Damian Catholic Church in Bartlett. In the suit filed in Cook County Circuit Court, Patricia Vestey and Kathryn Joan Ebeling, both in their 60s, say they repressed memories of abuse at the hands of the Rev. Thomas Barry Horne for several decades. It wasn't until they learned that others had accused Horne of abuse that their recollections began to surface, the suit said.